More and more evidences indicate that diseases of the central nervous system have been seriously affected by fecal microbes. However, little work is done to explore interaction between amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and fecal microbes. In the present study, high-throughput sequencing method was used to compare the intestinal microbial diversity of healthy people and ALS patients. The principal coordinate analysis, Venn and unweighted pair-group method using arithmetic averages (UPGMA) showed an obvious microbial changes between healthy people (group H) and ALS patients (group A), and the average ratios of Bacteroides, Faecalibacterium, Anaerostipes, Prevotella, Escherichia, and Lachnospira at genus level between ALS patients and healthy people were 0.78, 2.18, 3.41, 0.35, 0.79, and 13.07. Furthermore, the decreased Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes ratio at phylum level using LEfSE (LDA > 4.0), together with the significant increased genus Dorea (harmful microorganisms) and significant reduced genus Oscillibacter, Anaerostipes, Lachnospiraceae (beneficial microorganisms) in ALS patients, indicated that the imbalance in intestinal microflora constitution had a strong association with the pathogenesis of ALS.

Environmental pollution caused by herb residues and the huge waste of medicinal ingredients contained in herb residues hinder the development of traditional Chinese medicine enterprises. To solve this problem, several probiotics were tested, and Lactobacillus plantarum (HM218749) was finally selected for the reuse of herb residues of Jianweixiaoshi tablets. A mouse model of Helicobacter pylori infection was developed to evaluate the anti-H. pylori infection activity of the herb residue fermentation supernatant using a urease activity test, histological imaging, an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and denaturing gel gradient electrophoresis (DGGE). The results demonstrated that the herb residue fermentation supernatant successfully inhibited urease activity, slowed cell infiltration in the gastric area and significantly reduced the production of interleukin-6 (IL-6), IL-8 and TNF-α in the treatment group (p<0.01). In addition, the DGGE results indicated that the herb residue fermentation supernatant was beneficial for the recovery of the disturbed microbiota in the infected model to the normal condition, in which L. gasseri (GU417842.1) and L. johnsonii (HQ828141.1) were dominant in all groups. Therefore, the probiotics exhibited strong potential for the development of herb residues in this study, and the products showed strong potential in curing H. pylori infections.

Recurrence of oral diseases caused by antibiotics has brought about an urgent requirement to explore the oral microbial diversity in the human oral cavity. In the present study, the high-throughput sequencing method was adopted to compare the microbial diversity of healthy people and oral patients and sequence analysis was performed by UPARSE software package. The Venn results indicated that a mean of 315 operational taxonomic units (OTUs) was obtained, and 73, 64, 53, 19 and 18 common OTUs belonging to Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes, Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria and Fusobacteria, respectively, were identified in healthy people. Moreover, the reduction of Firmicutes and the increase of Proteobacteria in the children group, and the increase of Firmicutes and the reduction of Proteobacteria in the youth and adult groups, indicated that the age bracket and oral disease had largely influenced the tooth development and microbial development in the oral cavity. In addition, the traditional ‘pathogenic bacteria’ of Firmicutes, Proteobacteria and Bacteroidetes (accounted for >95% of the total sequencing number in each group) indicated that the ‘harmful’ bacteria may exert beneficial effects on oral health. Therefore, the data will provide certain clues for curing some oral diseases by the strategy of adjusting the disturbed microbial compositions in oral disease to healthy level.

Microbial populations in probiotic supplements in China were investigated using the plate count method and PCR–DGGE technique. Our results indicated that total viable cells in most probiotic products could meet the minimum requirement of the Chinese National Standards (106 CFU/mL); however, total viable cell counts of the species detected in the probiotic products did not correspond with the cell number given in the label.

Little work is done to develop Aloe vera (AV) using probiotics. To explore the potential benefits, the antioxidant effects and the antibacterial effects on foodborne pathogens of Aloe fermentation supernatant were evaluated in vitro. Our results indicated that the Aloe fermentation supernatant fermented by Lactobacillus plantarum HM218749.1 had very strong scavenging capacities of the DPPH (86%), O2 •− (85%), •OH (76%), and Fe2+ chelation (82%) and reducing powers (242.5 mg/L), and the inhibition zones for Salmonella typhimurium, Salmonella enteritidis, Shigella flexneri, Escherichia coli, Listeria monocytogenes, S. dysenteriae 301, Staphylococcus aureus Cowan1, and Propionibacterium acnes were 16, 15, 19, 20, 21, 20, and 27 mm. Moreover, the low concentration of Aloe fermentation supernatant had significantly reduced the production of IL-1β, TNF-α, and IL-6 in both mRNA and protein levels (P < 0.01). Therefore, the Aloe fermentation supernatant can be used as functional beverage or cosmetic ingredients to guard human intestinal health, delaying senescence, and prevent chronic diseases.